Deathwatch: Car wash

Bad news for anyone who likes to hang around Hand Car Wash sites, for the self-cleaning car is coming!

Nissan is working on paint technology that will make such antics a thing of the past. Hurry up if you want to recreate that Jessica Simpson video where she washes the Dukes of Hazzard car, all sexy and that.

The specially engineered super-hydrophobic and oleophobic paint, repels water and oils, mud, rain and everyday dirt, meaning drivers may never have to clean their car again.

Engineers at Nissan have applied it to the new Nissan Note, to assess if it will work, so feel free to inspect those as you mooch around town (no tyre kickers). By creating a protective layer of air between the paint and environment, Ultra-Ever Dry effectively stops standing water and road spray from creating dirty marks on the car’s surface.

There is also a ‘wash and blow dry’ function on the rear view mirror, which uses water and compressed air to keep the lens free of grime.

So far, the coating, which is being marketed and sold by UltraTech International Inc, has responded well to common use cases including rain, spray, frost, sleet and standing water and Nissan say that there are currently no plans for the technology to be applied to the model as standard, but it will continue to consider the coating technology as a future aftermarket option.